Domestic science

Uptown Magazine

Inventive guitarist gains fans by playing house parties

Chuck Molgat

Blue Rodeo guitarist Bob Egan has figured out a great way to make friends and money at the same time. In addition to the club performances Egan puts in when in solo mode, he¹s been beefing up his itinerary of late playing private parties at the homes of his fans.

"It's a different way of doing business," says the longtime U.S. session musician and two-year veteran Blue Rodeo player, on the phone from his home in Toronto. "We average about 50 people a house party, which is a considerable chunk of people. So they're successful financially and they're successful as far as generating a solid fan base."

So far, Egan says he's done about a dozen of the exclusive house calls, which are lined up in advance via e-mail. The gigs make it possible for him to play three different shows in the same city over the course of a weekend, while connecting with a lot of folks who wouldn't necessarily come out to a club show.

"There's a certain segment of the population that'll come out to a smoky bar to see you play, and there's a lot of people that are over that," he says.

Over the next few months, Egan will spend just about every weekend performing in a different city. The impetus behind all the air miles is Egan's newly minted CD, The Promise. The disc is the 40-something multi-instrumentalist¹s second independently released solo CD. His eponymous debut came out in 1999.

Of the 11 songs on The Promise, 10 were co-written with Blue Rodeo bass player Bazil Donovan. The rootsy, folk-rock album was recorded at the ranch studio of Blue Rodeo frontman Greg Keelor, who co-produced the project along with Egan. The timing of the new disc's release couldn't be better, with Blue Rodeo staying close to home while slowly putting together the band's next CD.

"This year we're on the part of the cycle where we're recording," Egan explains. "So we've been recording the last six months making the new record and we'll finish that up in a month or two and it'll be released in the fall
­ at least that;s my understanding. Then we'll get real busy again and we'll do hundreds of shows."

Egan says there¹s no comparison between touring as part of a popular group and striking out in support of his own material. "When you¹re out solo your responsibilities quintuple," says Egan, who formerly toured extensively with Wilco, Freakwater and Billy Bragg. "You've got to set up your own gear, rent your own gear, make your own plane reservations, sell your own CDs ­ that kind of thing. And it's on your shoulders to deliver the performance to the crowd. In a band, that's spread out between five or six guys."

Egan isn't complaining, though. Rather, he's confident he's got the best of both worlds. "I think I pretty much have the ideal situation right now," he says of his two careers. "I see them both coexisting quite fine." Bob Egan performs at the Academy Coffee Company on Thursday, May 9, at 9 > p.m., with Melinda Small opening. Tickets are $10. Details of his two Winnipeg house-party performances remain undisclosed.

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Bob Egan
The Promise
(Independent)

Pedal-steel player Bob Egan has toured with Wilco and Billy Bragg, and is now a full-fledged member of Blue Rodeo. Though he¹s no copycat, it's evident he's picked up a musical trick or two from the acts he's accompanied. On his sophomore solo release, the Minnesota-born guitarist collaborates with Blue Rodeo bassist Bazil Donovan (and recruits a passel of friends from the Canadian alt-country music scene) for a set of country-roots tunes with a loose, easy feel and all the charm of a
front-porch jam session. "Mr. Moonlight" has a Mexi-Cal sway, highlighted by Travis Good's mandolin work; the Be Good Tanyas lend heavenly backing vocals to the soulful, elegiac "When I'm Gone"; and the jangly rock of "Starting Over" is instantly catchy. Catch Bob Egan on Thursday, May 9, at Academy Coffee Co. Admission is $10.

Jill Wilson